Carpe DiEmily (A Romantic Comedy Adventure)

nine

Emily and Tyler dropped AW off at the dog trainer’s—an enthusiastic man named Akio Kudo who looked down at the collapsed, exhausted AW panting at his feet and proclaimed him a piece of cake to train.

“No problem!” he cried out, clasping his hands together on the porch of his white bungalow. “I will have him back to you in two to three weeks, tops. This filthy mongrel will be rid of all street manners when I am finished with him. He will be so well trained people will stop you in the street . . . after which of course, you will then give them my card.” He pressed a stack of glossy business cards into Emily’s hand that read, “Akio Kudo, Concierge Dog Trainer to the Stars.”

Emily and Tyler thanked him, said goodbye to the sedate, tongue-lolling form of AW, and headed to the beach café for lunch.

Although the beachside restaurant was situated on the boardwalk like Alberto’s, it had a completely different feel. The wait staff was dressed in khakis and white button-down shirts, and the tables, covered with cream-colored cloths, offered a picturesque view of the ocean. Though the café itself had a feeling of decorum and modesty, the scenery outside was carnival-like.

As the hostess handed them their menus, Emily couldn’t help but gape at the sights. Venice was in full swing. Pierced roller skaters dodged in and out of crowds, deftly maneuvering between camera-wielding tourists who pointed and gaped as if on a safari. Scruffy-haired surfers, bare-footed and bare-chested, laughed and high-fived each other as they moved between pizza joints and breweries, dodging the acrobatic bike riders doing leaps and jumps and twirls in the air. Musclemen lifted barbells the size of truck axles. Street musicians warbled drunkenly, strumming guitars with broken strings. Vendors sold everything from glittering peace-sign jewelry to hemp, calling out changing prices to passersby. There was even a snake charmer, her bronzed skin draped with slithering, twisting serpents and not much else, smiling into the eyes of a boa while a crowd cheered her on.

Emily had never seen such a strange place.

“So what do you think?” asked Tyler, studying her.

“It’s . . . interesting.”

“You’ve been doing some interesting things yourself lately,” he observed. “That dog is unbelievable. Seems you’ve been pushing yourself outside your comfort zone. It’s good to see. Even if you ended up with a damn crazy animal.”

Emily shrugged. “I inherited some money recently. Made a bucket list for some things to do with it. Thought I might as well start having some fun.”

“I thought you had no living relatives.”

Emily swallowed. “I don’t. Or at least I thought I didn’t. But this money showed up. There’s a time limit on it, though. If I don’t spend it within a . . . well, a year, then it’ll go back into trust. To be sent to a charity.”

“Cool.”

She took a sip of water. “So lunch is on me.” She winked at him.

“Do you have something in your eye?”

She shook her head, embarrassed. Even her wink came out as more of a blink. Like she had a cinder in her eye.

“Well hey, thanks for offering to buy lunch, Em,” Tyler said, glancing at the menu. “But drinks are on me.” After a moment, he put the menu down and looked straight at her. “So tell me about your bucket list.”

She looked down, feeling shy. Her list felt so . . . private. She didn’t really feel like sharing it. He might laugh. Or worse, think she was weird.

But he was gazing at her with such an open, friendly expression in his green eyes that she couldn’t help herself. She pulled her cell phone out, scrolled through to the list, and pushed it across to him. “Those are the things I’d do if I could live a different life. If I were a different person, actually. But I’m trying, I guess.” She gave a short laugh.